


Movie and a Burger

by pi_meson



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Aromantic, F/M, First Dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 11:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4519620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pi_meson/pseuds/pi_meson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Janice goes out with Roger for a movie and a burger.<br/>Only one of them thinks it's a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Movie and a Burger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_Dark_Weird_Way7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_Dark_Weird_Way7/gifts).



> I saw an aromantic Janice headcanon from katheryne-speaks-katheryne-knows over on tumblr and asked if I could do a fic based on it.
> 
> (When I was 11 I went on a similar "date" and it was horrible! I still remember the clammy hands and the desire to escape from what would otherwise have been a nice afternoon out with a friend. I had my second date when I was 15 and it wasn't any better!)

"Hey! My little girl is home early. Did you have a good time, honey?"  
Steve's voice boomed through the house, his footsteps followed and Janice scowled at her dad when he finally appeared in the hallway.  
"I thought I was picking you up in an hour. How was your date?"

Janice shook her head. "Dad, no, just don't go there, okay?"  
Steve's expression changed, slipping from a genial, open smile to a frown of concern. "Did something bad happen, honey? You know you can tell your mom and me anything and it'll be okay."  
"No!" Janice shook her head again and waved her hands. "Nothing bad. I just... just... ugh."  
Steve smiled out from under his furrowed brow. "Ah. So you're not going on a second date anytime soon, I guess."  
Janice scowled and turned her chair to face her room. "No I am not. I wanna go change." 

Janice reappeared in sweatpants, a striped tee and wet hair. Steve put a cup of hot chocolate on the table for her, and a plate of coconut scones. Janice smiled. "Thanks, dad."  
"So, you don't have to tell me about your date," Steve said after Janice put her cup down and chose the second biggest scone, "but if he was a real jerk you can rant at me like Uncle Cecil does. Blowing off steam like that sure makes him feel better, might work for you too."  
Janice looked at her dad's concerned expression. "Ugh!" she cringed, "it was horrible!"  
Steve sighed. "Was he mean to you? About you?" He lowered his voice. "Was it because of your chair? Because if it was, I promise I will--"  
"No! No dad, it wasn't like that. He's okay or I wouldn't have gone out with him. Ugh. It's just... I don't even know!"  
Steve raised an eyebrow. "Sofa time? You can pick a movie?"  
Janice nodded. "Can we have something that doesn't have any stupid kissing in it?"

Once Janice was settled on the sofa, giggling at the number of cushions Steve used to help her stay upright, Steve flicked through the movie options on Netflix. Steve rejected the violent ones, Janice rejected the ones that looked suspiciously like they might have romantic plot-lines. Eventually she sighed. Steve turned to catch her eyes and she looked away.  
"It was a terrible date. I came home right after the movie. I saw Uncle Carlos and asked him to give me an excuse and bring me home but not tell anyone because I was embarrassed." Janice sighed again.  
"Hey, you did the right thing. I'm glad he was there for you." Steve patted Janice's arm and hovered over 'Despicable Me.' Janice shook her head, muttering _minions!_ and Steve scrolled on.  
"Uncle Carlos was great, he said," Janice affected a deeper voice, making Steve smile, "'hey Janice, sorry to spoil your evening but you have to come home, Roger your dad's in the cafe, why don't you go find him?' and brought me back without asking any questions." Janice stared at the screen.  
"That was real nice of him." Steve handed the remote to Janice and texted Carlos a quick _thank you talk later_  
"Yeah," Janice stared at the TV screen. "I had to get away in case he tried to kiss me."

Janice settled on _Napoleon Dynamite_ on the grounds that they could, as a family, recite all the lines to the early Harry Potter films almost without error. Janice paused the movie ten minutes in and turned to her dad.  
"Dad, um, when you went on your first date with mom, did you guys, like, hold hands and stuff?"  
Steve smiled and coloured slightly. "Sure we held hands." He grinned. "And _stuff_ too."  
Janice punched Steve's leg. "Eww!"  
Steve play-flinched and laughed. "Hey, you asked!"  
Janice giggled. "Okay. Um, when Roger asked me to go to the cinema then for a burger with him, I just thought we were... um," she shrugged, "going to see a film then get a burger. You know."  
Steve deliberately kept his eyes on the screen and restricted his reply to, "O-oh?"  
"Yeah. Um, he held my hand. It was kinda sweaty. I kept pulling away to wipe my hand on my jeans but he kept trying to take it back. So I shoved my hand under my leg." Janice demonstrated, pushing the hand nearest Steve down between the cushion and her leg. "So he tried to put his arm around me instead."  
Steve turned. "And you didn't want him to do that?"  
Janice shook her head. "No, but the film was on and I didn't want to make a fuss because the wheelchair seats are, like, right at the front. Everybody would see me fussing and disturbing the film. So I leaned a bit away and sat perfectly still."  
Steve smiled at his own memories. "I did that once, honey, before I knew better. I put my arm around the back of her chair and she leaned real far forward so my arm was just kind of _there_ and she was out of reach. Maybe Roger hasn't learned to read other people's reactions yet. He's only eleven."  
Janice frowned and looked at her dad. "Well I'm _only eleven_ too and I don't want to have to teach him."

Steve mock-punched Janice's arm. "Sounds like he's not the guy for you. Come on, who would you rather go on a date with? If you could go out with absolutely anyone, real person or not?"  
Janice frowned. "Nobody, if it's a date. I like going out places but I don't want to do any of that hand-holding-gross-kissy-kissy crap."  
Steve shrugged. "Maybe when you're older--" Janice's withering expression persuaded Steve not to finish that sentence. "Maybe dating just isn't for you and that's fine. If you don't want to go on dates, don't go on dates. Language, missy, by the way."  
Janice's hand went to her mouth. "Sorry! Please don't tell mom! But if I'm invited somewhere, how do I know if it's a date or not? Most of my friends talk about dating and who kissed who all the time and it's annoying and gross."  
"Well," Steve smiled. "You could just say: is this a date?"  
Janice rolled her eyes and started the film again.

Abby came home to find Janice snuggled up to Steve on the sofa, watching some kid dancing on TV. She smiled. "Hey Janice, how was your date with that Harlan boy?"  
Steve pulled a face and shook his head. Abby smiled and shrugged. Janice, eyes still on the TV and a little sleepy, drawled, "Mom, can we get a pet alpaca?"


End file.
